J. Timothy Cromley, un américain qui est à la fois “Accredited Senior Appraiser in Business Valuations”, ingénieur et “Registered U.S. Patent Attorney” révèle sa recette en 20 étapes pour chiffrer la valeur monétaire d’un brevet dans un article intitulé « Twenty Steps for Pricing a Patent » paru dans la version en ligne du « Journal of Accountancy » du « American Institute of Certified Public Accountants ». Voici en anglais sous forme d’énumération ces 20 étapes:
- Check whether the patent is in force.
- Identify the context.
- Gather information.
- Assemble a valuation team.
- Read the patent.
- Investigate the patent’s scope.
- Talk with a patent attorney.
- Inquire about the patent’s validity.
- Inquire into blocking patents.
- Consider synergies among patents.
- Investigate foreign patent protection.
- Consider the remaining life of the patent.
- Analyze any prior royalties paid for the patent.
- Inquire into any actual or threatened litigation involving the patent.
- Identify the next-best alternative technologies.
- Estimate a demand curve for the patented item.
- Determine the patented product’s point of profit maximization.
- Consider the applicability of traditional valuation approaches.
- Do an income-approach valuation.
- Write the patent valuation report.